Hmmmm...friends. I am feeling so bad that Sodexo coupons are being rejected in Reliance , Food World etc. Their contention is the difficulty in counting sodexo coupons that come in different valuations like 15, 30, 42, 50 etc. Big Retails outlets like Food World, Reliance say the time taken to count these coupons is too long and leads to more time in billing. Not sure why Sodexo isn't coming up with the option of Smart card to rectify this issue.
Apart from that retail outlets are upset with the increased commission being charged by Sodexo. Earlier it was 5% and now has been hiked to 8% or 9%. It seems that the time taken by sodexo to payup is also long. In some cases up to 4 months.
Outcome:
Of late some outlets are charging 2% to 4% extra if you are buying stuff using sodexo. I came across one such shop in Jayanagar 9 block. These outlets are just cheating public.
Primary Aim: Tax Exemption
If you are availing Sodexo option and getting coupons worth say 1700 Rs per month. Then in an year you would be using up to 20400 worth of sodexo coupons. As we all know its totally tax free. Primarily the aim is to ensure that the amount spent on food items aren't taxed.
I am just wondering why this goal cannot be achieved without using food coupons. Like medical reimbursement we can also have food reimbursement. That is submit bills pertaining to food purchase and avail tax exemption.
Lets go into some back ground information about SODEXO.
Sodexo is a French multinational corporation Sodexo is one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, with greater than 300,000 employees, representing 130 nationalities, present on 34,000 sites in 80 countries.
They make money in the following ways::
a) They receive Rs.100/- worth of coupons, while give back only Rs. 95/- in cash, netting a straight 5% gain.
b) Sodexo coupons usually come with an expiry date (think of it as a currency with expiry date *shudder*). Once its expired, no retail store would accept it and it becomes null and void. However, Sodexo had already received the money from your Company when they issued the coupon (and hence a 100% profit!). There is a complex process through which you can get new coupons issued, but most people would not have the time or the patience to go through the process for getting the new coupons.
c) The biggest of them all. They get money at 0% interest. On Day 1, they receive Rs. 100/-. Day 24-34, they give back Rs. 95/-. That is, they have had the money for a full 20-30 days without paying any interest. In fact, till the coupon is used, it is practically free money (and they can lend this money at interest, thereby making money).
I do not understand why this useless setup is anyway required. Its a scheme used by both government and sodexo to make more money fooling public. Government encourages it as it knows public spending would be more if they use coupons. Most of us are less careful spending coupons than money. Thus by providing exemption they encourage more spending. Smart thinking!
Future:
This is a temporary situation. In about a month or two the issue would be resolved. As SODEXO, Retail outlets and government stands to gain from this arrangement. Its a win-win situation for them.
Apart from that retail outlets are upset with the increased commission being charged by Sodexo. Earlier it was 5% and now has been hiked to 8% or 9%. It seems that the time taken by sodexo to payup is also long. In some cases up to 4 months.
Outcome:
Of late some outlets are charging 2% to 4% extra if you are buying stuff using sodexo. I came across one such shop in Jayanagar 9 block. These outlets are just cheating public.
Primary Aim: Tax Exemption
If you are availing Sodexo option and getting coupons worth say 1700 Rs per month. Then in an year you would be using up to 20400 worth of sodexo coupons. As we all know its totally tax free. Primarily the aim is to ensure that the amount spent on food items aren't taxed.
I am just wondering why this goal cannot be achieved without using food coupons. Like medical reimbursement we can also have food reimbursement. That is submit bills pertaining to food purchase and avail tax exemption.
Lets go into some back ground information about SODEXO.
Sodexo is a French multinational corporation Sodexo is one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, with greater than 300,000 employees, representing 130 nationalities, present on 34,000 sites in 80 countries.
They make money in the following ways::
a) They receive Rs.100/- worth of coupons, while give back only Rs. 95/- in cash, netting a straight 5% gain.
b) Sodexo coupons usually come with an expiry date (think of it as a currency with expiry date *shudder*). Once its expired, no retail store would accept it and it becomes null and void. However, Sodexo had already received the money from your Company when they issued the coupon (and hence a 100% profit!). There is a complex process through which you can get new coupons issued, but most people would not have the time or the patience to go through the process for getting the new coupons.
c) The biggest of them all. They get money at 0% interest. On Day 1, they receive Rs. 100/-. Day 24-34, they give back Rs. 95/-. That is, they have had the money for a full 20-30 days without paying any interest. In fact, till the coupon is used, it is practically free money (and they can lend this money at interest, thereby making money).
I do not understand why this useless setup is anyway required. Its a scheme used by both government and sodexo to make more money fooling public. Government encourages it as it knows public spending would be more if they use coupons. Most of us are less careful spending coupons than money. Thus by providing exemption they encourage more spending. Smart thinking!
Future:
This is a temporary situation. In about a month or two the issue would be resolved. As SODEXO, Retail outlets and government stands to gain from this arrangement. Its a win-win situation for them.
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